Benjamin Riley
@benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Founder of Cognitive Resonance, a new venture dedicated to helping people understand human cognition and generative AI. Advocate for humans.
Newsletter: https://buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/
Newsletter: https://buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com/
Pinned
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
We have to get rid of Jeffries and Schumer. We have to. It’s unendurable that these men are the most prominent Democrats of the moment. They are two of the most broadly undistinguished men I could imagine in politics, zero fire, zero fight, zero zeal, machine politicians with sinecures.
January 21, 2026 at 1:30 PM
We have to get rid of Jeffries and Schumer. We have to. It’s unendurable that these men are the most prominent Democrats of the moment. They are two of the most broadly undistinguished men I could imagine in politics, zero fire, zero fight, zero zeal, machine politicians with sinecures.
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
This is an incredible conversation, touching on several distinct and worthy issues -- not just AI, but even more so science and how we approach it, the pervasive confusion of correlation and causation, and a bit of current politics/events at the end. Well worth a read.
"Maybe there will be artificial sentience. But I don’t think any sane person thinks large-language models are that. They don’t have inner autonomous agency. They’re a tool that you either use or you don’t. They're not intelligent machines that have lived experiences in the world." - Jessica Riskin
The Power of Life
My conversation with science historian Jessica Riskin
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:54 PM
This is an incredible conversation, touching on several distinct and worthy issues -- not just AI, but even more so science and how we approach it, the pervasive confusion of correlation and causation, and a bit of current politics/events at the end. Well worth a read.
"Maybe there will be artificial sentience. But I don’t think any sane person thinks large-language models are that. They don’t have inner autonomous agency. They’re a tool that you either use or you don’t. They're not intelligent machines that have lived experiences in the world." - Jessica Riskin
The Power of Life
My conversation with science historian Jessica Riskin
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:23 PM
"Maybe there will be artificial sentience. But I don’t think any sane person thinks large-language models are that. They don’t have inner autonomous agency. They’re a tool that you either use or you don’t. They're not intelligent machines that have lived experiences in the world." - Jessica Riskin
Genuinely think world leaders need to watch Back to the Future and focus on the character of Biff, who the screenwriters expressly modeled on Donald Trump. In the 1980s!
There is one way to deal with bullies and it’s not by accommodating them.
There is one way to deal with bullies and it’s not by accommodating them.
President Trump on Tuesday accused Britain of “an act of great stupidity” for agreeing to end British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, in a blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempts to cultivate the president.
Trump Calls Britain’s Chagos Deal ‘Act of Great Stupidity,’ in Blow to Starmer
President Trump’s criticism reversed his administration’s previous support for the deal, in which Britain relinquished control of the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius.
nyti.ms
January 20, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Genuinely think world leaders need to watch Back to the Future and focus on the character of Biff, who the screenwriters expressly modeled on Donald Trump. In the 1980s!
There is one way to deal with bullies and it’s not by accommodating them.
There is one way to deal with bullies and it’s not by accommodating them.
Students know what’s up. This sharp seventh grader raises the obvious question about what teacher use of AI implies for student usage.
January 19, 2026 at 8:37 PM
Students know what’s up. This sharp seventh grader raises the obvious question about what teacher use of AI implies for student usage.
The ACLU should be all over this. This is as blatantly UNCONSTITUTIONAL as it gets. Good on the woman for filming and standing up for her rights. She can and should sue.
A woman left a comment on Facebook criticizing the Mayor of Miami Beach,.
The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops to her home.
The Mayor of Miami Beach then sent the cops to her home.
January 19, 2026 at 6:53 PM
The ACLU should be all over this. This is as blatantly UNCONSTITUTIONAL as it gets. Good on the woman for filming and standing up for her rights. She can and should sue.
Amazing to think a quarterback will be canonized before the age of 25.
THE POPE'S STILL GOT IT
January 19, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Amazing to think a quarterback will be canonized before the age of 25.
One of the best summaries of what’s happened to America that I’ve read. There is still time to save democracy in the US but we’ve got to get annoying about. Ask your friends, ask family members: “What action did you take this month to fight what’s going on?”
One Year of Trump. The Time to Act Is Now, While We Still Can. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/18/o...
January 18, 2026 at 1:40 PM
One of the best summaries of what’s happened to America that I’ve read. There is still time to save democracy in the US but we’ve got to get annoying about. Ask your friends, ask family members: “What action did you take this month to fight what’s going on?”
This is so great. Humor is more powerful than bullets.
If you are in Seattle, please go patronize this store because this is amazing content/promo 😂 (laughing to keep from crying, and I do kind of low-key want that orange spider plant I have never seen that before)
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DTQrTqZ...
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DTQrTqZ...
January 17, 2026 at 8:58 PM
This is so great. Humor is more powerful than bullets.
Arguably the best thing I read about AI in 2025. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do.
Yesterday's @brookings.edu report on AI and education (esp. the quote below) left me thinking about this piece we published in August in The Important Work, so I pulled it out of the archives for a second look. theimportantwork.substack.com/p/from-the-a...
From the Archives | At my high school no one is talking about AI
But everyone is using it
theimportantwork.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Arguably the best thing I read about AI in 2025. If you haven’t checked it out yet, please do.
A nice thread wherein @vcarchidi.bsky.social raises thoughtful questions about why so many seem insistent on LLMs serving as a mirror to human intelligence. He speaks to why I remain insistent on calling them tools, because that is what they are — no more, no less.
Sometimes you can only have a clear view of a problem after several years of dealing with it.
A view I'm coming around to is: there is something fundamentally strange about the idea that an LLM growing more intelligent or more capable means aligning with human understanding. A long, rainy Saturday🧵
A view I'm coming around to is: there is something fundamentally strange about the idea that an LLM growing more intelligent or more capable means aligning with human understanding. A long, rainy Saturday🧵
January 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM
A nice thread wherein @vcarchidi.bsky.social raises thoughtful questions about why so many seem insistent on LLMs serving as a mirror to human intelligence. He speaks to why I remain insistent on calling them tools, because that is what they are — no more, no less.
Man, I could have sworn when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, NFL teams paused for a moment of silence before the games that followed.
Must have missed it when they did that for Renee Good this weekend.
Must have missed it when they did that for Renee Good this weekend.
January 13, 2026 at 1:42 AM
Man, I could have sworn when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, NFL teams paused for a moment of silence before the games that followed.
Must have missed it when they did that for Renee Good this weekend.
Must have missed it when they did that for Renee Good this weekend.
Seriously. Today I blocked a small contingent of pro-gun lefty numbnuts excited for armed confrontation with ICE. And it’ll happen again with anyone who tries it in my timeline.
can folks just be chill and not talk about doing violence to the government in other people's threads on bluesky dot com?
there's a real inverse relationship between how big folks are talking on here and how seriously I take them as someone ready for when the shit hits the fan.
there's a real inverse relationship between how big folks are talking on here and how seriously I take them as someone ready for when the shit hits the fan.
January 12, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Seriously. Today I blocked a small contingent of pro-gun lefty numbnuts excited for armed confrontation with ICE. And it’ll happen again with anyone who tries it in my timeline.
NYT managing editor: "So, godlike AI system, what do we mean by this?"
NYT reporter: "“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
[beat]
NYT managing editor: "Make sure there's a period after the A and the I. Ship it."
NYT reporter: "“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
[beat]
NYT managing editor: "Make sure there's a period after the A and the I. Ship it."
January 12, 2026 at 11:04 PM
NYT managing editor: "So, godlike AI system, what do we mean by this?"
NYT reporter: "“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
[beat]
NYT managing editor: "Make sure there's a period after the A and the I. Ship it."
NYT reporter: "“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.”
[beat]
NYT managing editor: "Make sure there's a period after the A and the I. Ship it."
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
ICE kidnap 17-year-old U.S. citizen working at Target then dump him bleeding and crying miles away in a Walmart parking lot… 🤬
January 12, 2026 at 3:58 PM
ICE kidnap 17-year-old U.S. citizen working at Target then dump him bleeding and crying miles away in a Walmart parking lot… 🤬
I’m a bit biased since they ran my essay last month, but I’m telling you, subscribing to @theverge.com is worth it for @lopatto.bsky.social’s stories alone.
January 12, 2026 at 9:54 PM
I’m a bit biased since they ran my essay last month, but I’m telling you, subscribing to @theverge.com is worth it for @lopatto.bsky.social’s stories alone.
“Papers please,” the US gestapo asks.
No. She says no.
And they leave.
Courage!
No. She says no.
And they leave.
Courage!
This woman is harder than goddamn steel dealing with these goddamn thugs. I want her to be my neighbor.
January 12, 2026 at 7:47 PM
“Papers please,” the US gestapo asks.
No. She says no.
And they leave.
Courage!
No. She says no.
And they leave.
Courage!
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
Checking in with two different Twin Cities school districts over the weekend. They saw absenteeism close to 30 percent or more due to federal immigration enforcement agent activity fears last week.
January 11, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Checking in with two different Twin Cities school districts over the weekend. They saw absenteeism close to 30 percent or more due to federal immigration enforcement agent activity fears last week.
My god. The courage of the woman filming. The moral outrage of this unconstitutional raid, US secret police with guns drawn. My god.
A video of ICE agents conducting door-to-door searches today in Minneapolis
The homeowner requests a warrant repeatedly, is told they don't require one, then is told they're getting it, then the agents storm in anyway
They also point a taser at her to try and disrupt filming
The homeowner requests a warrant repeatedly, is told they don't require one, then is told they're getting it, then the agents storm in anyway
They also point a taser at her to try and disrupt filming
January 12, 2026 at 1:49 PM
My god. The courage of the woman filming. The moral outrage of this unconstitutional raid, US secret police with guns drawn. My god.
My newsletter is ostensibly about cognition and AI, but lately it's been my means of processing grief. I wrote this week about courage, and my teacher friend who's working to help a student who's mother was snatched by ICE. And share a poem about what happened to Renee Good.
America in Distress
Finding courage in a state of despondency
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:28 PM
My newsletter is ostensibly about cognition and AI, but lately it's been my means of processing grief. I wrote this week about courage, and my teacher friend who's working to help a student who's mother was snatched by ICE. And share a poem about what happened to Renee Good.
I trust that every pro-charter school organization stands reads to defend loudly the social-justice mission of this public elementary school. This is what “school choice” hinges upon, after all.
Renee Good’s 6-year-old attends ‘social justice’ school that teaches about George Floyd, warned staffers to report ICE
Renee Good’s 6-year-old attends ‘social justice’ school that teaches about George Floyd, warned staffers to report ICE
Good, 37 — who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis Wednesday — has a 6-year-old at the Southside Family Charter School, which believes in "involving children in political and social activism" to fight "racism, sexism, classism and homophobia."
nypost.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:08 PM
I trust that every pro-charter school organization stands reads to defend loudly the social-justice mission of this public elementary school. This is what “school choice” hinges upon, after all.
Well the markets should love this signal of complete dysfunction at the highest levels of the US government.
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:58 AM
Well the markets should love this signal of complete dysfunction at the highest levels of the US government.
Reposted by Benjamin Riley
It meant so much to sing this song, to teach and share it, as my voice shook, as my heart was breaking. For every beloved stolen from us through abduction, murder, and deportation. For every martyr and freedom fighter. May our singing remind us of our power, and embolden us in collective action.
This is stunning. Listen to this in Philadelphia.
Thousands singing “Hey-Oh, we won’t be silent while our friends are gunned down.”
Really listen to it.
Thousands singing “Hey-Oh, we won’t be silent while our friends are gunned down.”
Really listen to it.
January 11, 2026 at 7:18 PM
It meant so much to sing this song, to teach and share it, as my voice shook, as my heart was breaking. For every beloved stolen from us through abduction, murder, and deportation. For every martyr and freedom fighter. May our singing remind us of our power, and embolden us in collective action.
“I am a sleeping giant/there is a riot in my bones/we will not be silent/‘til all our friends are home” @samantharise.bsky.social sings
“Hey-Oh, We won’t be silent when our friends are gunned down” the crowd sings
Watch, listen, share, act.
“Hey-Oh, We won’t be silent when our friends are gunned down” the crowd sings
Watch, listen, share, act.
Video of @samantharise.bsky.social orchestrating this haunting moment should go viral too www.instagram.com/reel/DTRHFlg...
New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia on Instagram: "We wont be silent when our friends are gun down! @samantharise"
624 likes, 12 comments - nsmphilly on January 8, 2026: "We wont be silent when our friends are gun down! @samantharise".
www.instagram.com
January 11, 2026 at 7:20 PM
“I am a sleeping giant/there is a riot in my bones/we will not be silent/‘til all our friends are home” @samantharise.bsky.social sings
“Hey-Oh, We won’t be silent when our friends are gunned down” the crowd sings
Watch, listen, share, act.
“Hey-Oh, We won’t be silent when our friends are gunned down” the crowd sings
Watch, listen, share, act.
And I know how it goes when you’re lonely when you’re tired
When you’re looking out the window and the world’s outside
If you can bear to stay, take a breath, then a stride
Nobody wants to be opened wide, opened wide
- @samantharise.bsky.social, Little Soldier
My god this song
When you’re looking out the window and the world’s outside
If you can bear to stay, take a breath, then a stride
Nobody wants to be opened wide, opened wide
- @samantharise.bsky.social, Little Soldier
My god this song
Samantha Rise - Little Soldier | Sofar Philadelphia
YouTube video by Sofar Sounds
youtu.be
January 11, 2026 at 4:16 PM
And I know how it goes when you’re lonely when you’re tired
When you’re looking out the window and the world’s outside
If you can bear to stay, take a breath, then a stride
Nobody wants to be opened wide, opened wide
- @samantharise.bsky.social, Little Soldier
My god this song
When you’re looking out the window and the world’s outside
If you can bear to stay, take a breath, then a stride
Nobody wants to be opened wide, opened wide
- @samantharise.bsky.social, Little Soldier
My god this song